Author: Modern Athlete

Registered Dietician Mariella Dierks obviously knows how to ‘fuel up’ for optimum performance, given her two podium finishes at two major triathlon races in the first week of September! – BY SEAN FALCONER

After her best swim to date and executing her bike leg plan to perfection, in spite of a headwind for the first 45km, Mariella Dierks started the run of the Ironman 70.3 World Champs in Port Elizabeth feeling like she was floating across the ground. “When my teammate Natia van Heerden passed me at 8km, I decided to try stick to her and we ran together for seven kays. I felt amazing, and when we passed my coach, Richard Lawrie of My Training Day, at 15km, he told us we were third and fourth in the 25 to 29 age category, so I decided to take a risk and go for it.”

Mariella pulled away from Natia and caught the international girl in second at 18km, going on to claim the silver medal position behind fellow South African Jade Nicole. “Going into the race I knew that if I hit the times Richard and I had spoken about, I would have my best ever race, but I exceeded my own expectations. I had told Richard I wanted to go for the podium at World Champs, and achieving that was incredible. To be honest, it still feels a bit unreal.”

Exactly one week later she lined up for the MiWay Cape Ultra at Theewaterskloof Dam, specifically to test her limits. “I decided to do back-to-back races to see how my body will react, since I am thinking about turning pro. Fortunately for me, the swim was cancelled due to the water only being 11 degrees, so we ended up doing a duathlon instead. That played to my strengths, since I am not as good a swimmer, but I had never done a duathlon before, so it was a new challenge. Everybody went out hard, so I got onto the bike already in the red zone. I caught the leading two women after 6km, but then my chain dropped twice and Michelle Krebbs overtook me. I kept her in sight for the next 15km, and once I overtook her again, I held the lead to the finish for the overall win!”

The Journey Begins
Mariella (26) has lived in Cape Town most of her life, except for three years in Austria when she was little, and a few years away for studies. She first completed a B.Sc. in sport science at Stellenbosch University, then completed her B.Sc. Honours degree in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Cape Town, followed by a Community Service Year in Grahamstown in 2016. Back in Cape Town since early 2017, she currently works as the dietician at Velocity Sports Lab in Hout Bay, and is also the consulting dietician at DayToDay, a food box delivery company, where she does menu analysis, content development and new product development.

In terms of sport, she worked as a lifesaver from 2008 till 2015 and participated in competitive lifesaving, winning three long run titles at SA Champs (2009, 2011 and 2015), with a silver in 2014 and bronze in 2012. She also participated in road and trail running, often finishing on the podium, but in 2015 decided to try something new. “I actually have no idea why I entered my first Ironman 70.3 in East London, because I didn’t even own a bike, but I really enjoyed it.” She finished fourth in the 18-24 age category, then went on to finish fifth in her category at the Durban 70.3 later that year.

In 2016, while working in Grahamstown, she finished second at the Eastern Cape Tri Champs and went on to finish eighth in the 20-24 category at SA Champs. She also added more age category honours with a third at the Discovery World ITU Tri in Cape Town, seventh at Ironman 70.3 Durban, and second at the Nelson Mandela Bay 5150. “After that I decided to really give it a go, because I wanted to see how good I can get, so I signed up with Richard and have been training consistently since early 2017.”

Upward Curve
The results soon followed, including an overall win in the Tinman Triathlon in Durban, second overall in the Discovery Triathlon Cape Town, and other solid age category results: Seventh at 70.3 East London, second at Ironman 70.3 Bintan in Indonesia, fourth at Ironman 70.3 Durban, and fourth at the Miway Durban Ultra. This year she added third in her category at 70.3 East London, third overall at the Durban Ultra, and won the Durban 70.3 overall.

Now, with her latest two results added to this already impressive list, Mariella says she has to make a decision on her plans for 2019. “I would like to go to World Champs again, but I am not yet sure about turning pro, since I feel I still have a lot of experience to gain in the sport. But given everything, it was an amazing, special season – if somebody had told me at the beginning of the year these would be my results, I would have told them to stop smoking whatever it is they’re smoking!”

IMAGES: Kevin Sawyer

The ball of positive energy that is Mogamat Shahmieg Allie is well known in the Cape running community, both for being one of the spirited leaders of the distinctively bright and vibrant Ommiedraai Friends Athletic Club, along with his wife Gaironesa, and for always having his camera at hand to shoot countless pics of fellow runners. – BY PJ MOSES

He may be well known in running circles these days, but 60-year-old Mogamat Shahmieg Allie admits that his first foray into the world of running many years ago was less than successful. “My first running memory was from high school, when my cousins convinced me to give the hundred metre dash a go. They even organised me spikes to run in, but when I got to the start, everyone else was barefoot and they looked at me like I was this serious sprinter. Reality soon dawned and by the 25-metre mark I was in last place. I made a quick exit off the track and hid away for most of the day, and I only returned to running years later!”

Shahmieg has always been active, being an ardent walker even from his primary school days, and later a rugby player of note. However, when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997, he knew that he needed to stay active, and running helped fill the hole that retiring from rugby had left. Over the years he has run races in the club colours of UWC and Gugulethu, and of course his beloved Ommiedraai Friends, and worked his way up through the distances. “I remember doing my first marathon at Red Hill in 2005 and qualifying for Two Oceans with 17 seconds left before the cut-off. We could still enter manually back then and I went over to the legendary Chet Sainsbury and told him to sign me up. He had a good chuckle. I went on to finish my first Oceans and in 2017 I finished my tenth one, which earned me a Blue Number.”

His next target is getting his Green Number at Comrades, where he has finished five races out of the eight that he has started. “I couldn’t do Comrades over the last couple of years because of the holy month of Ramadaan, which fell over the same period as the race, but next year I will be able to do it if I can qualify. Another race that a friend said I should try is the Washie, but I think I will only do that once.”

FROM HIKING TO RUNNING
The Ommiedraai Friends club did not actually start out in the world of running, per se. The club was created to accommodate the new running goals of a group of hikers brought together by Shahmieg, as his goal of getting people in his community to embrace a more active lifestyle had found fertile ground in those that accompanied the Allie family on their hiking adventures. “My wife and I decided, when our kids were still little, that we would expose them to nature so that they could embrace the beauty outside. It built stronger bonds within our family and later also helped our community to take ownership of their lives and their health.”

The club as a running entity was made official by Western Province Athletics in 2010, with the core of the membership made up of the former hiking group. Since those early days, the club has grown to almost 400 members, with 80 coming from the Northern Suburbs off-shoot, affectionately known in Cape running circles as Ommie-North. “We have grown because of the family feel our club has, and the average age of our executive is just 30 years, because we have fostered a belief throughout the club that the future is our youth,” says Shahmieg.

FIT PHOTOGRAPHER
One of the many hats that Shahmieg wears and particularly loves is that of photographer. You will often see him carrying around his big camera at races to get the best angles of all the action, and he then posts the pics to his own social media pages and that of the club. “I started taking pics of everything I could when my eldest son was born. I told my wife I wanted to record every moment and from there it has just kept going. I like to capture those moments of life that will make fond memories forever.”

For this former rugby hooker, the scrum of life is what keeps his flame burning bright, and to keep himself in tip-top shape and to inspire others, Shahmieg still regularly cross-trains at the gym. He also includes the occasional run and hikes as much as he can. “I believe in the four D’s: Devotion, Dedication, Discipline and Determination. A healthy body breeds a healthy spirit, and there is no better way to that than to do sport – and if you want to encourage others, then you have to lead by example and maximise your efforts to stay healthy and energised.”

IMAGES: Carder Tregonning, Moegsien Ebrahim & Zulfa Levy Adams

Ina Henning had last seen the famed Washie Moon in 2012, but this year got to experience it one more time out on the road during the Washie 100 Miler, thanks to her long-time friend Hilton Murray and Blitsie the wheelchair jogger. – BY SEAN FALCONER

The Washie 100 Miler is run on the Friday closest to full moon each July, in order to give the runners as much light as possible for the long night of running ahead. The race starts at 5pm in Cathcart, initially doing a few kays through town, then a 35km loop around the town before passing through Cathcart again and then winding down to the coast at East London. Given the fact that this gruelling race only attracts a small field each year, experiencing the ‘Washie Moon’ is therefore a prized bucket list item in SA ultra-running circles – and this year it was made even more special by a partial eclipse turning it into a rare, red-tinted ‘Blood Moon.’

One of the lucky athletes to experience this out on the road to East London was Ina Henning, owner of 12 Washie medals, the most ever by a woman. However, she wasn’t running the race. Ina was forced to retire from running some years back for medical reasons, but her long-time friend and former Ficksberg AC clubmate Hilton Murray had decided to take her along for the run, pushing her in the now famous wheelchair jogger called ‘Blitsie,’ which he has used to push Anita Engelbrecht through multiple runs over the last three years, including the Two Oceans and Comrades ultra-marathons. “Ina’s last Washie was in 2012 and she had told me she wished she could see one more Washie Full Moon, so I decided on very short notice to contact the race organisers, Buffs Club and Border Athletics, to get permission to push her in this race, since I was finally going back to do my second, having run my first with Ina in 1996,” says Hilton.

Ina says it was such an incredible moment when Hilton phoned to invite her to go along with him. “After we ran that first Washie together, I would ask him every year, are you doing Washie, but he never wanted to. Then this year I saw on Facebook that he ran a 100km race and mentioned Washie as his next goal, so I sent him a WhatsApp to say this Washie would be for me. He simply replied, ‘will phone you Monday,’ then he called me to ask if he could push me in Blitsie! I told him I had to talk to my husband first, because I would be starting my next chemo cycle on the Thursday before the race weekend, but in the end I decided to go for it.”

ULTRA FOCUS
Ina (60) has lived in Ficksburg in the Free State for most of her life, and has three married sons and two grandchildren. She used to own a framing business, but sold it and retired in 2015 due to her health. She started running in 1989 because she wanted to run the Comrades Marathon, which she did in 1991, and says she just carried on from there. “I loved ultras, and went on to do my tenth Comrades in 2000, which was very special because it was the first year for the new Bill Rowan medal and I got one. I finished on 18 consecutive finishes, with my last one in 2008, but I was already struggling with my health, and while I did go back for two more, I could only get to 3km and 7km from the finish by cut-off.”

She also ran many other ultras, including 11 finishes at Two Oceans, as well as winning the Laingsburg Karoo Ultra 80km twice. However, it was the Washie that became her focus. “When Hilton decided to go run it in 1996, I asked to go with. The whole Ficksburg Marathon Club went with to second us, thinking they were going for a big jol, but it almost turned into a nightmare for them, because the Washie is hard work for the seconds. At one stage Hilton and I split up, so the seconds had to split as well. We both struggled a bit, but we finished and both came home with trophies.”

“When we got back to Ficksburg, I wasn’t even thinking of running it again yet, until one of our clubmates, a doctor called Dawie, commented during a morning run that the only reason Hilton and I finished was probably the drip he gave us along the way. Well, I was so angry that I decided to show him I can do it without a drip, so I went back the next year, with Hilton seconding me. He never wanted to run it again, because I think he simply didn’t enjoy the race, but I fell in love with the race, and so just kept going back.”

CHASING THE RECORD
That saw Ina run her best time of 19:19 in 1999, then get her permanent Number in 2000 when she ran her fifth Washie. “I then decided to keep going, as the woman with the most finishes had seven, but was now retired from the race. So I went for eight, then because I was so near to 10, I carried on and received my Washie Shoe in 2005. In 2007 I finished my 12th, but my body decided that would be my last. I realised something was stealing my energy, so I went to see the doctor, and that changed everything.”

After a battery of tests, the doctor told Ina she had scleroderma, a rare and incurable auto-immune condition in which the body produces too much collagen, causing the skin and connective tissue to thicken and harden. Ina says that made her realise that her Washie days were done. “I carried on walking and tried running short distances, but eventually went over to cycling to maintain my fitness.” Then in 2014 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent 18 months of treatment, but six months later she began coughing, and nothing helped to stop it.

“They did a scan and found cancer in one of my lungs, which was unfortunately inoperable due to being too close to the bronchial pipe, so I have undergone four cycles of chemo since then, but the cancer is still spreading. It is now in both lungs and I struggle to breathe, which means that my muscles don’t get enough oxygen as a result. Even cycling is now a struggle, because the downhills are not a rest opportunity for me, as I am still catching my breath from the previous uphill!” (At the time of this interview, shortly after her Washie outing, Ina was still busy with her fifth cycle of chemo)

ONE MORE WASHIE
However, her medical condition was not going to stop Ina from going for one more Washie, and thus she readily agreed to Hilton’s invitation, in spite of knowing how tough the route is. “He had to get special permission from the organisers, because the first 35km loop has no shoulder on the road, and is run in the dark. So we started together for the first few kilometres, then Hilton did the loop alone while I waited in the car with my husband, and rejoined him for the rest of the race.”

“It was a bit windy and cold at the start, and it began raining while we were waiting for Hilton, so I just prayed for the wind and rain to stop, or else he wouldn’t be able to push me. It was still cold by the time he got back, but the worst had passed, and just as Hilton picked me up again, the clouds opened up and I got my Washie Moon! At 80km, I was extremely cold due to sitting still in Blitsie and my feet felt like they were going to fall off, so I took out a scarf, cut it in half and wrapped the pieces around my feet. I was praying for the sun to come out, but Hilton joked that sun makes him lame. I really felt sorry for him, because it was just one hill after another. The second half was warmer once the sun came out, but luckily it was a cool day, otherwise he really would have suffered!

Hilton and Ina crossed the line in 22 hours and 56 minutes, finishing 57th out of 122 finishers, and unsurprisingly, they received massive support all along the route, with fellow runners and their supporters going out of their way to offer help and encouragement. “They kept telling us what an inspiration we are, and it was wonderful to reach the finish. That last section was so emotional, and there was an incredible spirit at the finish.”

“It was just such an incredible privilege to go back to the Washie… I had had this big hole in my heart since 2012, and had even thought about going to second others, just to be part of it one more time, so I was overjoyed when Hilton asked me to go with him. I have no idea where he got the strength to push me all that way, but he made my biggest dream come true, and I told him I think he is sent by the angels. What he does for others cannot be described in words, because it is so big, and I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart.”

IMAGES: Courtesy Hilton Murray

2018 will go down as a stellar year for South African track and field with numerous new records being set, Africa and Commonwealth titles in the Senior ranks, and three World Champions amongst the Juniors. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER

The year got off to a bang with the introduction of the new Liquid Telecom Athletix Grand Prix Series in March, the first time an international series was held on SA soil since 2003, featuring three meetings in Roodepoort, Pretoria and Paarl, with sell-out events at Tukkies and Paarl. The series saw the likes of World Champion Justin Gatlin come to race – and get beaten – in the seldom-run 150m event. Caster Semenya gave notice to the world that 2018 was going to be the year of records when she broke Ilse De Kock Wicksell’s long-standing women’s SA 1000m record in Pretoria. She would go on to break that record again later in the year.

Next up was the Commonwealth Games in April, in Brisbane, Australia, where South Africa won 12 medals, five of which were gold, with an additional four silver and three bronze medals also coming back to SA. Amongst the golds, two went to the incredible Caster (1500m/800m), while Akani Simbine won his first international title in the men’s 100m, and Luvo Manyonga added to his already impressive global medal haul by winning the men’s long jump.

Come June and it was time for the Juniors to shine at the World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. Zeney van der Walt, Sokwanana Zazini and Kyle Blignaut came away with gold medals, in the women’s and men’s 400m hurdles and shot put respectively, while Breyton Poole added a bronze in the men’s high jump. Zeney and Soks would finish the season in the number two and number one spots respectively on the World Junior rankings.

African Heroes
August saw our athletes head to Asaba in Nigeria for the African Championships – held under challenging conditions, to say the least. Team SA finished second on the medals table behind Kenya, even though South Africa had the most medals overall (30), but they were two shy of Kenya in the gold medal department. Caster continued her rampage of fast times and gold medals, winning the 400m and 800m, the former in a new SA Record of 49.96 to smash Heide Seyerling’s 18-year-old record of 50.05, set in Sydney in 2000. (However, the IAAF does not recognize this new record).

Akani won his second major international title by taking the 100m, and the men’s 4x100m relay team was too good for the rest of Africa for yet another sprint gold. While Antonio Alkana defended his men’s 110m hurdles title, Ruswahl Samaai upset Luvo Manyonga to retain his Africa title in the men’s long jump, edging his compatriot by 2cm. Kyle added the men’s shot put title to his World Under-20 title, and Victor Hogan won gold in the men’s discus.

The gold medal winners from Africa Champs then represented Africa at the Intercontinental Cup in Ostrava, Czech Republic, with Akani claiming the bronze medal in the 100m and Ruswahl taking gold in the long jump. Caster won silver in the women’s 400m, setting another SA Record of 49.62 in the process (this one is recognised by the IAAF), then took the gold in the women’s 800m, and a silver medal in the mixed 4x400m relay capped an incredible year for her in SA colours.

Diamonds Retained
No surprise then that Caster claimed the women’s Diamond League series title in the 800m, and Luvo made it a SA double by claiming the men’s long jump series title. Caster was undefeated in the two-lap event, posting the four fastest times in the year, and her 1:54.25 in Paris in June also broke her own SA Record. This was her third consecutive Diamond League title in the 800m event. Luvo won six of the seven Diamond League long jump competitions, including the final, to retain his title. The only blemish on his record this season was a third place finish in Stockholm.

Looking Ahead, our athletes are now taking a well-deserved off-season break, with the provisional dates for the 2019 season due to kick off with the four new Summer Series meetings in March, followed by three Grand Prix meetings in April and then the SA Junior and Senior Champs later in April. The Diamond League starts in May, and the 2019 IAAF World Champs will take place in October in Doha, Qatar.

Sidebar: Caster in record-setting mood
2018 was a year of records for Caster Semenya, and she now holds the women’s SA Records for 400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m and 1500m. There can be no doubt that Caster is South Africa’s Athlete of the Year, given that this season alone she set the following seven SA Records:
400m: 49.62 (Ostrava, 8 September)
800m: 1:54.25 (Paris, 30 June)
1000m: 2:35.43 (Pretoria, 8 March), 2:31.01 (Rabat, 13 July), 2:30.70 (Berlin, 2 September)
1500m: 4:00.71 (Brisbane, 10 April), 3:59.92 (Doha, 4 May)

IMAGES: Roger Sedres/ImageSA

Toes are important to maintaining your balance, and even more so to running, so when top trail runner Imran Paya lost a toe in a freak accident just over a year ago, he thought his running days were done, but his remarkable comeback continues. – BY PJ MOSES

Even though Imran Paya has a pretty good sense of humour, he says it seemed that fate was playing a cruel joke on him last August. Just two weeks after winning the 2017 RCS SOX three-day trail race in Mossel Bay, with teammate Peter Tswayo, he thought his running career was over. “Helping to lift a heavy drain cover at home in Cape Town, it slipped and fell on my right foot and I had to be rushed to the doctor,” he says. Unfortunately, things worsened when the doctor misdiagnosed the injury and gave him the wrong treatment. This led to his big toe becoming badly infected, and in order to save the rest of his foot, the toe had to be amputated. “I was told that I would probably not run again, and even if I did, that I‘ll be slower.”

Unsurprisingly, the decorated and accomplished RCS Gugulethu AC runner says he felt like the carpet had been pulled out from under him. “A month after winning SOX, I was sitting at home with crutches and minus a big toe. I had been training to break the 2 hour 30 minute barrier at the Cape Town Marathon, but now it had all come to an end… and my silver medals at Two Oceans and Comrades felt like somebody else’s achievements.”

Running Talent
The man from Blantyre in Malawi, who has made Cape Town his home since the year 2000, only discovered his talent for running 10 years ago. “Before coming to SA I didn’t run and was a soccer player. I started running in 2008 because my friend Abdul Malick convinced me to give it a go and persuaded me to enter a 10km race. When I finished it in 42minutes, he told me that I was born to be a runner.”

That saw Abdul talk Imran into joining him at the Gugs club in 2009, and soon he was running further. “He kept pushing the bar higher for me. In 2010 I ran my first marathon and first Two Oceans Ultra, followed by my first Comrades in 2011. I competed against myself and wanted to see how much I can improve by finding better ways to train and being conscious of my diet.” That saw him become a serial podium finisher, with PB’s at Two Oceans and Comrades of 3:40:59 and 6:36:39 respectively.

Then in 2015 another running friend and clubmate, Bernard Rukadza, convinced him to try trail running. For Imran it opened a new world of running adventures. “I fell in love with trail. The road can become a bit monotonous, but on trail you need to keep your focus and not hesitate, or else you’ll end up with your face in the rocks.”

Toeing the Line Again
By the time of his accident, Imran had become a force on trail, which made the road back to running all the harder, but he was determined not to give up. “I decided that my story wasn’t done. This was just another test on the road to success,” he says. With the support of friends and clubmates, he worked with podiatrist Chris Delpierre at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) to design a special inner sole to compensate for the missing toe, and he also followed SSISA’s Grucox training programme to strengthen his legs and body. “With the specialised training my body has adapted well and running is less painful. My first long race back was the Peninsula Marathon, followed by a 4:08 at Two Oceans and then the Weskus Marathon, where I ran 2:46 to surprise everyone, including myself!”

With his passion for running reignited, he was determined that he and Peter should return to SOX and defend their title this past August. “Trail running was less painful than road running, so training went well, but running doesn’t give you any guarantees, and I knew SOX was a dream that could become a nightmare.” However, there was no need to worry as the duo comfortably took the win. “I couldn’t contain my emotions when we finished in first place. A year earlier I thought I would never run again, but here I was winning my second title.”

Looking ahead, Imran says he is looking for new challenges, like the Ultra Trail Cape Town 100km later this year, but entry fees are expensive. “Without sponsorship it‘s hard to afford entries and running kit, but I remain hopeful. You get nothing from focusing on the negatives, but if you focus on the positives, your journey will always be better. I am content with life and this helps me to always give my best. When I hit the wall in a race, or in life, I remind myself that other people would love to be where I am, and this keeps me going.”

IMAGES: Dylan Haskin & courtesy Imran Paya

After a year ravaged by injury and recovery from an operation, Elroy Gelant has been putting in the hard yards to build back up to fitness, and some of his recent results have helped restore his confidence, but with another operation still to come, he is very much focused on relaunching his running career in 2019. – BY MANFRED SEIDLER

The pain had become so bad that Elroy Gelant was reduced to a mere shuffle instead of the hard running he was used to. It was December 2017, and the Olympian, South African 5000m record holder and multiple SA Champion in road, track and cross country was not only being robbed of the ability to train, but his hernia condition was also making him doubt his own ability. For an elite athlete who easily churns out three minutes per kay splits, sometimes even faster, not even being able to maintain an easy running pace of 4:15 to 4:20/km was extremely worrying.

“I could literally only do run-walking, so I was doing the parkruns with my girlfriend Tamzin, but it was scary. The SA season was coming up in a few months and I couldn’t string together one decent run. I was really scared that I would not be able to ever get back to the level I am used to, and expect,” says Elroy.

“Then I first saw a knot in the groin area in January, and that’s when my doctor said we should operate. But we agreed to wait until April, as the South Africa season had just started. I struggled on my long runs, but was able to do my shorter sessions without too much difficulty. However, those long runs are important, so I knew that my season would be a challenge, especially towards the end, as my base was not where it needed to be.” Elroy had also just bought a house, and does not have medical aid, so he needed to find almost R60,000 for the operation, meaning he needed to replenish his reserves first.

That lack of base was clearly evident when Elroy tried to defend his national 10,000m title at the SA Champs in mid-March. “I had no strength in my legs. I just felt flat, and the pain was now becoming quite bad. I did not even finish my 10,000m race! It was very demotivating and it made the doubts in my mind about my running career all the more prominent, so I scheduled the operation straight after SA’s.”

Surprising Result
For the next nine weeks, Elroy was not able to train properly, if at all, and even then it took time to build up his strength and endurance again. “I was only able to start training with some effort with four weeks left to go before the SA Half Marathon Championships at the end of July, so I was not expecting anything there. A top 20 would have been great in around 70 minutes.” However, a classy athlete remains a classy athlete, and Elroy surprised himself by posting a time of 61:48 to finish fourth overall and second South African in the NMB Half Marathon in Port Elizabeth, which doubled up as the SA Championships.

Stephen Mokoka won the race overall and the SA title, with the second and third places going to foreigners, hence Elroy’s fourth overall still placed him as second in the SA Champs. It was an incredibly close race, with just six seconds separating the top six men over the line, and Elroy finishing four seconds adrift of Stephen’s winning time. “I was really, really surprised. Finishing so high up and under 62 minutes took away all my doubts about my possibility of getting back to the top, because I definitely did not expect to be right up there,” says Elroy.

“But to be honest, I had no rhythm or confidence, so I actually gave up in the last 2km. It is a terrible feeling to not have confidence in your ability, and I had thoughts of ‘that is the end of my career’ floating through my head. I just started to jog, but then I must have recovered and my pace picked up again. When I saw the other guys coming back at me, I sprinted for the line, and it paid off. Clearly my lack of base work had caused the sluggishness, and of course, my lack of confidence played a role, but after that race, I know things will get better again.”

Another Injury?
Despite the operation and his great result in PE, Elroy says he continued to struggle for form, and then late in August he suffered another scare. Two weeks prior to the Mandela Day Marathon on 26 August, where he competed in the half marathon and finished third, he realised that there was swelling on one of his testicles, which was quite uncomfortable when running, especially on the long runs.

“I was worried that things were not quite sorted after all, so I went back to the doctor and he found that there was some internal bleeding causing the swelling. That was a relief, as I thought it could be quite serious. It is uncomfortable, but knowing it is not serious means I can finish the rest of the season here in South Africa, do some more road races, and then have another small operation in November, which will give me enough time to do the work needed to prepare for 2019.”

Elroy’s plan now is to focus on these races in order to get back some level of fitness, so that when he has to go for the operation in November, the road to recovery will be quicker. Training and racing now for him for the rest of the year is also about the confidence factor. “I was selected to go to the Africa Championships in Asaba, Nigeria at the beginning of August, but I was not even close to being ready fitness-wise. However, I felt I needed that experience of racing against the best to build my confidence and to just have the body remember what it feels like to race at that level, but it was terrible. I was lapped for the first time in my life in a 10,000m and finished in 30:23. Still, it felt good to be mixing it with the best again. It was necessary. I was then asked to do the 5000m, too, which I did, running 14:10.”

Time to Train
While Elroy is rightfully considered an elite athlete – he has, after all, run 13:04.88 for 5000m, and 1:01:10 in the half marathon – yet he still has the same plight as so many of our South African elites: He needs to hold down some form of employment in order to survive. The 32-year-old is an HR assistant at the University of Potchefstroom, which means his day begins at the office at 8am, so his morning runs are done at 4am. That’s very much like most of the runners in South Africa, but when you are competing at the elite level, recovery is vital, and spending a lot of time on your feet is not really conducive to proper recovery. Nor is missing out on that valuable afternoon nap, which is an essential for speeding up recovery.

“I do miss that recovery time, but work needs must come first. With me finishing around 4:30pm, I miss the second training session of the day with the Springs group under Coach Phakati in the winter time. They go out at 3pm to get the ’warmth’ of that time of day, but now when it gets warmer, they will go out again around 5pm, so I will join them. For now, I have been doing my second session on my own.”

Once Elroy has his operation in November he will return to hard training for the 2019 season, which will be an extended season due to the World Championships only being in October. That leaves him with a dilemma, as he is training for the 5000m, but also thinking of representing South Africa in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which means he needs to run a qualifier towards the end of 2019. The long season will not leave him time get into marathon shape, given that the track season only ends in October.

“I haven’t yet decided if I will try for the marathon for Tokyo, but it is in the back of my mind, and I will need to decide pretty soon, as it will affect my entire preparation for 2019 and 2020. Much will depend on how quickly I feel back to normal after the op in November. But after running 2:12:49 in my debut marathon in Cape Town last year, I definitely have unfinished business with the marathon.”

IMAGES: Jetline Action Photo & Tobias Ginsberg

In 2015 Bevan Oschger narrowly survived a hit-and-run accident, but was left with a permanent brain injury. In spite of this, Bevan has taken on some incredible physical challenges, including the 2017 New York Marathon, in order to raise awareness of what it means to live with a traumatic brain injury – and he has big plans for more endurance challenges. – BY SEAN FALCONER

In November last year, an irrepressible spirit called Bevan Oschger completed the New York Marathon, with his two faithful guides alongside him every step of the way. One was Lauren Reimers, a biokineticist from the Justin Jeffery Biokineticists practice in Johannesburg, where he goes for rehab treatment, and the other was Samantha Shirley, an American runner who is a member of the Achilles International Club that sponsors the New York entries each year for athletes with a disability.

The reason Bevan was running with the Achilles Club was that he was involved in a hit-and-run accident in 2015 and left with a serious traumatic brain injury (TBI). While his body recovered from most of the injuries, his brain injury seriously affects his balance and co-ordination, making walking a challenge, let alone running, and he was left with a permanent loss of most of his memory. Just getting to the finish line of the marathon was a huge achievement, but given his never-say-die attitude, it really came as no surprise to those who know him.

“The trip to New York is a bit of a blur, even when I see the pics, but there is one specific thing I remember clearly of the marathon,” says Bev. “Around 25km in, memories of the accident were coming back and stopping me. Up till then everything had been OK, but then both my ankles, both knees and my pelvis all just gave up at 25km, because I had never run that far before – my furthest was a 21km. I went into the second medical tent on the route and I overheard the doctors telling my guides that the race was over for me, but I told myself, we raised all this money to get here, so I can’t quit. I couldn’t go back to my Headway Rehab group and say I failed. I just had to get over that wall. No, make that a mountain!”

That saw Bev leave the medical tent and get going again, eventually finishing the race close to the seven-hour mark, with his wife Angela waiting for him at the finish. “My wife had to be there. She deserved it, because as my caregiver, this is hard for her… a brain injury is really difficult to deal with. I just cried a lot when I finished, because I’m a very emotional guy from my injury, but I took it positively, because I believe that life isn’t over, you’ve got to get up and do the best you can.”

THE FATEFUL DAY
On 12 August 2015, Bevan was on his way home from work on his motorbike when he was hit by a car. The driver sped off, leaving him seriously injured and unconscious in the road. “I was a building contractor, but I had lost my passion for work in Joburg, so I had temporarily moved back up to Hoedspruit, near my parents, to get back into it. I had just finished a job and the client was very happy, and then the accident happened a few kays from home. I have no real memory of the accident, but remember meeting my parents for lunch earlier that day. A lot of my past went with the accident,” says Bev.

He was in a coma for four weeks, and when he finally woke up, he saw Angela sitting by his bed and recognised her. “She said I had woken up 20 times already, but never recognised her. I actually thought the hospital was home, as I had no memories. After being released from ICU into the care of my wife, my recovery started, and six months later, having healed from my injuries, I began physical rehab, because my wife saw that something was wrong with me. It was a case of this guy’s lift wasn’t going to the top floor,” he jokes.

“My left side was slower than the right, affecting my balance and co-ordination, and after many, many months of physical therapy, I was referred to Justin Jeffery for further therapy to heal my broken body. Justin is a biokineticist specialising in spinal cord and neurological rehabilitation, helping patients realise their full potential and regain as much self-sufficiency as possible. His motto is, ‘The only disability in life is a bad attitude,’ and he started me with running, as that helped with my balance.”

ENDURANCE CHALLENGES
Typical of Bev, he went into his rehab programme with a bigger goal in mind than just walking or running. “I had actually gone to Justin to ask him to help me walk to Cape Town to raise funds to pay for my rehab and medical bills, because I didn’t want to be a charity case now that I could no longer work or drive. But then he suggested something even greater. Through his affiliation to the Achilles South Africa club, they invited me to do the New York Marathon, because the Achilles mission is to enable people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream running events. I said I had never been an athlete, and had never run before, but I was up for the challenge!”

“I also said yes because Angela had always wanted to go to New York, but I couldn’t get her there before. Now we had the chance to go, but no money, so we used Facebook and BackaBuddy to raise the funds. It was close, but on the last night, with just a few hours to go, we managed to raise the last bit we needed for tickets, accommodation and spending money for a week. It was a wonderful trip, and completing the marathon was an incredible feeling, but my neurosurgeon says he still doesn’t know how I got through the marathon. He thinks it is purely because of my fighting spirit.”

And Bev isn’t done yet. He has agreed to another challenge from Justin, to ride the 947 Cycle Challenge on a tandem bike with Lauren on 18 November, and his training started the same day as the interview for this article. “My body and lungs are strong enough, but it’s very hard, because I am basically learning to ride a bike all over again. I’ve seen photos of myself on a BMX from my youth, so I know I have ridden before, but I have no memory of that. The important things is that Justin and Lauren believe in me, and I trust them to get me there.”

There’s also another running challenge on the horizon for Bev. “A while ago Justin offered that I do the Comrades Marathon next year, but I declined, as I am not sure I can achieve this milestone. In June I changed my mind. Well, actually, Justin finally convinced me that I can indeed complete it, so the weight is now on his shoulders to get me ready. I know I can do a marathon, but I have to now complete a full marathon in less than five hours to qualify, which means I have to cut my New York time by two hours, but I know I can do it… so here we go, the road to Comrades begins!”

POSITIVE OUTLOOK
Bevan is the first to admit that this has not been an easy journey, for himself or those around him. “Many times it was very difficult not to scream out in the middle of the night from pain or depression, but I am stronger now and keep all the pain to myself. I did not expect this to happen to me, but I refuse to allow this injury to get me down. I get up each morning to live another day with passion. I take life hour by hour and appreciate each morning the sun rises, trying to enjoy life and the people around me.”

He says he is also driven to raise awareness of TBI and show others that even with this injury, you can still conquer and achieve, even with all the challenges and hurdles he experiences each day. “I want to help others who have fallen to TBI and are struggling to get up. I want to give this invisible injury a voice, to show everyone that TBI survivors are strong, and our fight is a difficult one, but we will make it.

For that reason, you will often see Bev wearing his favourite T-shirt, with three words on the front. The top line says ‘Impossible,’ the second says ‘I’m possible.’ “I got that shirt at a sports day for the disabled. That day humbled me, because I realised that there were people who had fallen even harder than me, and I want to help them if I can. I want to motivate others and show them that if I can get back up, they can, too. If I can help one person to get up and be strong, then I have made a difference. What I can do now is limited, but I am a voice that can be heard, and can help others to live a different life, a new life, but all the same still a great life.”

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
If you are inspired by Bevan’s story, you can support him and other TBI survivors by making a donation to the Trojans Neurological Trust, or TNT. This non-profit fund was started by Justin Jeffery in 2007 to provide funding for rehab treatment for TBI patients who show the commitment and desire to rise above their neurological or spinal condition. To make a donation or find more info, go to http://tntsa.co.za, or mail [email protected].

IMAGES: Courtesy Angela Oschger